Title: Love Has No Boundaries – Volume 4
Anthology
Various Authors
Genre: MM Romance
Goodreads

My Rating:

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Blurb

The stories in Love Has No Boundaries anthologies celebrate love, sex and romance between men. They are a product of the Love Has No Boundaries promotion sponsored by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group.
The Goodreads M/M Romance Group invited members to choose a photo and pen a letter asking for a short M/M romance story inspired by the image; authors from the group were then encouraged to select a letter and write an original tale. The result was an outpouring of creativity that shone a spotlight on the special bond between M/M romance writers and the people who love what they produce.
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My Review

From this anthology I’ve read four stories:

The Lion and the Crow by Eli Easton was a pleasant surprise for me. 5 stars!
See my review here.

Smoky Glimpses by Nicole Forcine – 3 stars
Cute, unexpected romance with a hot firefighter and with a touch of paranormal.

* Making It Happen and The Long Return are both lost love / second chance / reunited lovers stories. I’m glad I ran into two stories with the same theme straight off the reel, because it became clear for me that not the theme was my main problem but the execution of it.

Making It Happen by S.J. Eller – 1 star
Terrible, dry, factual writing style, plus I really hated the storyline. It was really stupid and frustrating. 5 years!!?

The Long Return by Jessica Freely – 3.5 stars
Trevor and Shane were best friends and lovers. Then the night they graduated, Shane ran out on Trev without a word. It was fifteen years ago, and Trevor never saw or heard of him since then. But now Shane is back.
I understand Trev’s bitter anger and distrust in Shane. What Shane reveals is shocking and heartbreaking.

Title: Midwinter Night’s Dream
Series: Unwrapping Hank #2
Author: Eli Easton
Genre: New Adult / MM Romance
Goodreads

My Rating:

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Blurb

Micah is the hippest, most chill guy on campus. But when he gets the hottest kiss of his life from a cute guy during a game of ‘spin the bottle’, Micah’s cool turns into a puddle of anxious goo. Sure, Micah’s always been a little bi-curious, but he never thought he’d pursue a guy, much less a guy who doesn’t seem to be interested in getting caught.

Leo is passionate about two things: gay rights activism and acting. He stays focused and in control, and he never, ever, dates straight guys. When a chance spin of a bottle at a party has him locking lips with Micah Springfield, president of the Delts, dread-headed, serial-dating, straight Micah, Leo is determined to forget about it, no matter how incendiary the sparks or how gorgeous Micah may be.

Leo has bigger problems. His senior project is directing Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream just before the Christmas break. When his venue cancels at the last minute, Micah offers the use of his parent’s barn in rural Pennsylvania. Leo’s play may be saved, but what about his heart? Between Micah’s sweet lips, his family’s welcoming arms, and a devious bulldog who is determined to play Puck, Leo may find himself falling under the spell of Christmas magic.
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My Review

3.5 stars

Micah Springfield gets the hottest kiss of his life from a guy during a game of ‘spin the bottle’, and his world turns upside down. Eli Easton excels in writing first kisses. Micah and Leo’s first kiss was breathtaking and spectacular. I wish I was there too to see it.

Midwinter’s Night Dream is a pretty good retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

I loved Micah and loved Leo. Both of them are very well-drawn.

The ‘courting phase’ could have been better, if more detailed and not off-page. Micah did awesome. He was serious in Leo, really serious. He knew he stumbled into something extraordinary, something truly unique, and he held on it. And of course he managed to convince Leo about it eventually.

The other romance storyline between Yasmine and Helen is very superficial and lame. I get that it is here in order to make the retelling more accurate but then it should be more convincing. The story is too short to have a secondary romance storyline in it.

I liked Sloane and Hank a lot better here than in their own story. Sloane was hilarious!

Another complaint of mine is the number of the POVs. The two main characters’ viewpoints in first person are great and very enjoyable.  But there are three (or more?) additional viewpoints in third person – they are weightless and irrelevant.

Apart from that, Midwinter’s Night Dream is a lovely story. I liked Micah and Leo much better than Hank and Sloane in the first book of the series. I know I’m alone with this though.

See my cast and favorite quotes on my Tumblr page,
Daily Quotes by Exina.